Vernon L Cox COX-HAWK N7VC

Summary

On 20 April 1996 at about 14:05 local time, a Vernon L Cox COX-HAWK registered N7VC was involved in an accident near Mebane, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 April 1996 at 14:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Mebane, North Carolina, United States

Coordinates

36.0892, -79.2706

Aircraft

Vernon L Cox COX-HAWK

Registration

N7VC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Apex → Martinsville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA96LA123

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions in an airplane not equipped with appropriate instrumentation which led to the pilot's inability to maintain control and spatial disorientation. In addition, during an attemped recovery from the loss of control, the airplane exceeded Vne which resulted in failure of the aileron flight control system and flying wires. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot to obtain a preflight weather briefing and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During cruise flight the pilot encountered adverse weather ahead. He initiated a 180-degree turn but inadvertently entered clouds. The pilot became spatially disoriented and the airplane began descending with the airspeed increasing beyond Vne. The aileron system then failed and 2 of the 6 flying wires for the left wing also failed. The flight descended below the base of the clouds about 1,300 feet above ground level and the pilot made a forced landing into a field. After touchdown in a rough field the airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing before takeoff, and the airplane was not equipped with instruments for controlling the airplane without reference to terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.